Remember This Every Year!

When I saw the London Free Press on November 9, 2010, the vivid blue in the photograph held my gaze (see Figure 1 below). As I unfolded the newspaper, I was impressed to see this enlarged photograph on the front page, and as I read the caption underneath, it made me smile because finally young people are realizing the true meaning of Remembrance Day.   


Figure 1. Thirteen-year-old Matthews Hall pupils  Jessie Tucker and Graham Peck are illuminated by  the names of those who died in the First World  War during a vigil at the London elementary  school on Monday. The naming of all 68,000 Canadians who perished in the 1914-18 war will  end 12 hours before the nation pauses for a momentof silence Thursday. (MIKE HENSEN, The London Free Press.

Schools across Canada participated in the remembrance project, The National Schools Vigil, where names of 68,000 soldiers who died in World War 1 were projected over seven consecutive days from November 4 to November 10.  In the photograph, two young people, a girl and a boy dressed in school uniforms, are standing at attention and staring ahead while the soldier between them stands with his head bent. The young people represent the men and women who volunteered to sacrifice their lives and respectfully watch as each name is displayed for 25 seconds. The soldier between the young people is known as “The Brooding Soldier” (see Figure 2 below) and he is a Canadian memorial located in St. Julien, Belgium where he stands as a sentinel, with an expression of sympathy on his face, over the battlefield were 2,000 Canadians died from the first German chlorine gas attacks.  


Figure 2. The Brooding Soldier, St. Julien, Belgium. Source: The WW1 Forum for the Netherlands and Flanders

 

The image of “The Brooding Soldier” is appropriate for the rhetorical situation because he now is given the duty of watching the names of 68,000 soldiers—an honorable representation! The statue is permanent and unchanging just like the war and its causalities. The gray color evokes a feeling of mourning and a sense of formality, which occurs at a funeral and is fitting for this situation. The blue background evokes calm and peace, feelings embraced by Canadians every day because of the illuminated names that appear on the wall. The caption helps the reader to understand the photograph because without it, the reader is left to guess the intended meaning. The accompanying article added to the rhetorical situation by providing detail information about the photograph and it helped the reader to put it into context. 

  

Remembrance Day is a day Canadians need to remember those who died, those who died in all wars, including those who were killed in Afghanistan. Remembrance Day is getting increased attention each year because of Canada’s ongoing participation in Afghanistan. We are able to immediately see and hear the details of each solider who died in Afghanistan—the vivid  images of a casket being unloaded from the cargo plane at Trenton and the detail expression of grief on the face of each family member. Every Remembrance Day, Carolyn Wilson will honor her son, Mark Wilson, who died October 2006 in Afghanistan, at the Victoria Park cenotaph in London, Ontario and is determined to make sure Canadians do not forget about those who bravely fought for Canada. She has my support!